Lemon Rolls With Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

I began this long holiday weekend planning to make another batch of lemon pull apart bread. I'd been looking forward to it all week and the big bag of lemons sitting in my fruit basket teased and tantalized me with the promise of delicious baked goods. So what changed that plan? 

I discovered another photography challenge I'm tempted to try. You may have noticed I flaked out and gave up on the photography challenge I began at the beginning of the year. I have a million excuses from life getting in the way to my camera crapping out on me but the bottom line is I lost my mojo and haven't felt like picking up my camera for a while. I guess I go through phases like that in my life. A friend sent me the link to a photography challenge hosted by Lululemon, a workout clothing company that I've become more than a little obsessed with. I figure if I spend so much of my life working out I might as well invest a little in looking and feeling cute while I do it. Anyway, the challenge features 30 days of prompts that look to combine my love of being healthy with my love of photography. Let's ignore the fact that today's picture focuses more on butter and sugar than healthy living. It was such a simple switcheroo to find a lemon roll recipe that incorporated the same elements as that lemon pull apart bread, thus perfectly meeting the qualifications for today's photography theme: Centre. We all know the center is the best part of the roll.

The recipe I found was so similar to the pull apart bread that I knew it would be just as delicious. The recipe upped the yummy quotient by adding ginger and nutmeg, two of my favorite things. As I expected, the lemon flavor is strong in this one. Just the way I like it. Eating a few of these in place of lunch was a great way to kick off the holiday weekend.

 

Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn 

For the dough:
1 envelope (0.25 ounces, or 2 1/2 teaspoons) active yeast

3/4 cup milk, warmed to about 100°F (warm but not hot on your wrist)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft, plus 3 tablespoons more for roll assembly
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you may not use it all)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs

Zest of one lemon

For the sticky lemon filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

Zest of two lemons

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons orange zest

For the lemon cream cheese glaze:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons milk
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Make the dough:
In the bowl of a stand mixer sprinkle the yeast over the warmed milk and let it sit for a few minutes or until foamy. With the mixer paddle, stir the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup of the flour into this milk and yeast mixture. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, and the lemon zest. Stir in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet sticky dough.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pliable.

(If you do not have a stand mixer, stir together the ingredients by hand, then turn the soft dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Knead the dough by hand for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, pliable, and stretchy.)

Lightly grease the top of the dough with vegetable oil, and turn the dough over so it is coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let the dough rise until nearly doubled — about one hour.

Make the filling:
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup sugar with the nutmeg and ginger, then work in the lemon zest (1/3) with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles soft sand. Slowly pour in the lemon juice, stirring. Stop when the sugar and lemon juice form a thick, clumpy mixture like wet sand. (You may not use all of the lemon juice depending on how much juice you got from your lemon.)

Assemble the rolls:
Lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish or two 9" cake pans with baking spray or butter. On a floured surface pat the dough out into a large yet still thick rectangle — about 10x15 inches.

Spread the dough evenly with 3 tablespoons of very soft unsalted butter, then spread the lemon-sugar mixture over top. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the top long end. Stretch and pull the dough taut as you roll, to keep the lemon sugar firm inside. Cut the long dough roll into 12 even rolls. Pinch the bottom of each roll closed to help keep the lemon sugar inside, and place each one, open and cut side up, in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the rolls with a towel and let them rise for an hour or until puffy and nearly doubled. (You can also refrigerate the rolls at this point. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap or a towel, and place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the rolls, remove the pan from the fridge, and let them rise for an hour before proceeding with baking.)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the risen rolls in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into a center roll reads 190°F. Check the rolls after 20 minutes and if they're getting dark on top cover loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Make the glaze:
While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small food processor (or with a mixer, or a sturdy whisk), whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice and blend until well combined. Add the milk and the powdered sugar and blend until smooth and creamy.

Finish the rolls:
When the rolls are done, smear them with the cream cheese glaze. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving, but do serve while still warm.

A Taste of the Season: Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

 
I know I've said before that one of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit. In fact, I feel unmotivated to bake during the summer both because of the heat and also because it's kind of unnecessary when I have so many naturally sweet treats sitting in my kitchen. However, I had no choice but to bake for our book club meeting. I fear there would be an uprising if they were to show up and find I'd neglected to make something yummy. After sending them waddling out the door last month, stuffed to the brim with Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes, I figured I should give them a bit of a break this time around. Plus I'd just stocked up on fresh blueberries and always love the combination of lemon and blueberries. 

The cupcakes I settled on are perfect for the season. Buttery cake studded with blueberries and lots of lemon flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice. The lemon cream cheese frosting is tangy and refreshing. Honestly, you can't go wrong with this combination and this recipe is a simple way to make those flavors shine.

My only complaint is that some of my cupcakes were a little puny. It's been so long since I last made these that I can't recall if that happened before. Next time I might make the same amount of batter but make just 10 cupcakes. Several of mine only hit the top of the paper liners once they'd domed.

I've had this recipe in my baking arsenal for years and somewhere along the line lost the source. If you recognize it please let me know as I feel incredibly guilty not having anyone to cite.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Recipe from ??? (Please let me know if you recognize this recipe)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon oil or lemon extract
2/3 cup fresh blueberries

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 cupcake wells with paper liners. If you would like bigger cupcakes try 9-10 liners instead.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3) In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, and egg until smooth. Add yogurt, lemon zest and juice, and lemon oil/extract, beating until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Gently fold blueberries into the batter.
4) Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1) In a bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, and salt until creamy.  

2) With mixer on low speed, beat in two cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy. 

3) Add lemon zest and juice, beating until mixed. Add extra powdered sugar if necessary. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes before spreading/piping onto cupcakes.

Pull Apart Sweet Lemon Bread

The alternate title for this post is, "How Pinterest is ruining my diet." Since I became addicted to the site just a short week and a half ago I've pinned about 80 recipes I'm dying to make. I've already gotten a few good dinners out of it including an easy spicy tomato egg dish perfect for a weeknight, black bean tortilla pie from Martha Stewart, and these indulgent grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, apple, avocado, and pepperjack cheese:


The recipe I saw and just knew I *had* to make was a luscious-looking pull apart sweet lemon bread. Those flaky layers of dough interspersed with citrus-flavored sugar and that lemony cream cheese topping just had to be killer. My instincts were right as this is one of the best recipes I've ever made. Seriously. If you have a fear of baking with yeast this is the recipe to try to get you over that fear.

Yes, there are a lot of steps and yes, it is time consuming but it is so worth it. If only my traitorous stomach would have allowed it I could have happily eaten half of the loaf in one sitting. The dough is sweet, but not too sweet. The cream cheese topping is tart but not too tart. Everything about this recipe is spot on.


The only change I made was a minor and unnecessary one. I happened to have some Fiori di Sicilia on hand, a citrusy vanilla flavoring. Since I thought it would lend an extra fun kick of flavor to the dough I added a splash.

I would also caution you to keep an eye on the dough for those first 15 minutes and if it starts to brown too much be sure to cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking process. Mine was perhaps a tad too brown and crispy around the edges by the end, not that I let that stop me from devouring it.

Pull Apart Lemon Loaf
Recipe from Clockwork Lemon


Sweet Yeast Dough
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (You might not use all of this)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (optional)
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Sugar Filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of three lemons
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Tangy Cream Cheese Icing
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Make the dough: In the microwave heat the butter and the milk together until the butter melts. Set aside to cool slightly. While it is cooling mix two cups of the flour with the yeast and the sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Then add the water to the milk mixture and stir in the vanilla extract and optional Fiori di Sicilia.

2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixer and stir until combined. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until it is combined. Add another 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt and mix until combined.

3. Sprinkle the dough with 2 tbsp of flour and knead it with the dough hook for 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky but should become soft and smooth from the kneading. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Make Ahead Tip: If you want to make the dough the night before you bake it just gently deflate the dough after its first rise, place back in the bowl and cover it with plastic. Stick it in the fridge overnight (it will continue to rise, but at a much slower rate). Plus you get added flavor in the bread from the benefit of a slow, cold rise. The next day take the dough out and bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the next steps.

4. Mix the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest. It will draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan or spray it with baking spray

6. Forming the loaf: Deflate the dough with your hand. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20″ by 12″ rectangle. This part is a lot easier with a ruler on hand. Use a pastry brush to thickly coat the dough with the melted butter

7. Use a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12″ by 4″ (it might not be this exact size, but try to make the five strips be equal sizes). Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle and gently press the sugar in. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well. Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12″ by 4″ rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.

8. Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4″ by 2″.) Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes.

9.Bake the loaf for 15 minutes and then check to make sure that top isn't browning too quickly. If it is, just cover the top of the loaf with tinfoil and continue baking. My loaf took a little over 40 minutes to bake completely. When done, transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the milk and lemon juice. Stir until creamy and smooth. Spread over the warm bread (you might want to put some plastic wrap or parchment paper under the bread to catch the drips)

11. Eat!

Irish Potato Cupcakes

Yesterday's Irish potato post was but a precursor for something greater: Irish potato cupcakes. I took the flavors of Irish potatoes, turned them into a cupcake, and then stuffed each one with a fresh Irish potato. I'm happy to report that my crazy little experiment turned out even better than I'd imagined!


I used my favorite vanilla cake recipe and added a heaping serving of cinnamon and whipped up some cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut for the topping. The Irish potato nestled in the center ties it all together perfectly even though it does make the cupcake a little structurally unsound. I recommend eating this one with a fork and after a few bites you should expect it to fall apart a bit. I'm guessing this is because the filling's cinnamon coating keeps it from being sticky enough to hold it together. It's not a huge problem but I thought I'd let you know in case you're trying to eat one on the run. And be warned: this cupcake is a sugar bomb. You'll need a tall glass of milk or a gallon of water to wash it down.

Irish Potato Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons soft butter
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.

2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3) Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer at low speed, until the mixture looks sandy.

4) Combine the milk and vanilla and add, all at once. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.

5) With the mixer running at low speed, add 1 egg. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Add the second egg, again beating for 30 seconds.

6) Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat briefly, just till smooth.

7) Scoop the batter by heaping 1/4-cupfuls into the prepared muffin tin. A muffin scoop works well here.

8) Bake the cupcakes for 23 to 25 minutes, until they've domed, and are a light golden brown around the edges. They'll spring back when pressed gently on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

9) Remove the cupcakes from the oven, cool in pan on a rack for ten minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on rack.

10) For the filling, whip up a batch of Irish potatoes and make 12 of them larger than usual, about 3/4". The recipe will make much more than you need for the cupcakes so enjoy the leftovers or make a quarter of the recipe and you'll have enough to fill the cupcakes. Using the cone method fill each cupcake with a large Irish potato.

Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3-4 cups powdered sugar

1) In a pan over medium heat, toast coconut by stirring constantly until light golden brown. Remove coconut from pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
2) In a mixer, cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and heavy cream and beat until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until mixture reaches desired consistency. Since you won't be piping the frosting it can be a little soft.
3) Spread frosting generously onto cupcakes using a spatula or flat knife. Dip the top of each cupcake into the bowl of toasted coconut, coating completely.

Irish Potatoes

I'm guessing that if you're not from the Philadelphia area you'll assume from the title that this post is about vegetables. Yuck! Guess again! C'mon, you know me better than that. I don't run a health food blog.

I'd never heard of Irish potatoes until we moved to southern New Jersey and I spotted some in the bakery section of the grocery store as St. Patrick's Day approached. Curious, I inspected the ingredients list and discovered, to my joy, that Irish potatoes are actually a confection made with a sugared cream cheese and coconut mixture rolled in cinnamon to resemble tiny potatoes. The recipe is so simple that I have no excuse for not making these sooner. Even worse, we usually break down and buy some from our favorite bakery every year.

Several people online commented that these are like coconut frosting rolled in cinnamon, and that's not far off the mark. Keep these small as the sugar factor can become overwhelming after a few bites. I made a few changes to the recipe I found online including chopping the coconut a bit before adding it in. Some people weren't fond of the stringy texture so I eliminated some of those longer pieces by chopping them up. It's not a necessary step but a good idea.

As you can see from the picture above, they're not the most attractive treats but they are a delicious St. Patrick's Day tradition.

Irish Potatoes
Recipe adapted from All Recipes

3 tablespoons butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 cups flaked coconut
2-3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and 3 cups confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Add additional confectioners' sugar if mixture isn't thick enough. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Refrigerate until solid enough to roll into balls. Place the ground cinnamon in a Ziploc bag or lidded plastic container. Roll cream cheese mixture into small balls or potato shapes, place in bag or container with cinnamon and toss to coat. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

Yields: About four dozen

London Calling

Since I'm considering giving up the local Iron Chef Cupcake Challenge meet-ups I was pleased to find a similar online contest that I could participate in instead. This way I won't have to drag my husband out of the house, sometimes driving quite a way to get to each competition. The online contest can all be done from the comfort of my own home without frittering away any of my precious baking budget on petrol.

The idea of a Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge intrigued me right off the bat because a different ingredient will be featured every month and it will hopefully lead to the sharing of everyone's wonderful recipes. This month's ingredient is tea, something I adore in its unadulterated state and something I've experimented with in baking before. But it wouldn't be a challenge if I didn't try to one-up myself (and the competition, of course) so I've been brainstorming trying to come up with something more creative and intricate than plain old chai cupcakes with white chocolate frosting. Good, but I've been there, done that.

After dismissing a few ideas for not being innovative and exciting enough, I got the brilliant idea to draw inspiration from the fancy afternoon tea my brother and I had while on vacation in London last year. He was there for the scones and decadent pastries (and to keep me company) but I was excited by the wide variety of teas they had on offer. One in particular stood out: a green tea with coconut, caramel, and ginger flavorings. Man, oh man was it good and unlike anything I'd had before. Even my non-tea drinking brother had a few sips and declared it to be "bearable" after I'd added a few extra sugar cubes for him. High praise, indeed.

Trying our darndest to act prim and proper

The best part is that I happened to already have the perfect teas in my stash to help me recreate those flavors in cupcake form. This made the frugal girl in me quite happy! I did a test batch of tea combining Celestial Seasonings' Vanilla Ginger Green Tea and Sweet Coconut Thai Tea to be sure they'd blend well. Let's just say I finished my first cup and was on my second before I'd even started making breakfast. You'll find that the Vanilla Ginger Tea is discontinued, which clearly puts me into the category of "tea hoarder." I can't deny this, alas, but at least my hoarding practices aren't so bad that I won't willingly share when friends come over. The good news is that if you want to try this recipe at home you should have no trouble finding a comparable substitute out there. Or just stop by my house and I'll gladly help you out. I've got plenty, after all.

In keeping with the London theme, check out the Paddington Bear fabric I used as a backdrop. I knew all that fabric I keep buying on impulse would come in handy one day!

I hunted down a coconut cake recipe that uses shredded coconut and coconut milk. Although some revamping of the recipe was required, I liked that it called to heat the coconut milk, perfect for steeping the tea. So I dropped in three tea bags at the start and ended up with an extremely flavorful milk by the end.

Check out the action shot of butter melting! Go, butter, go! The before pic:


And after heating for five minutes it turned this lovely caramel color:

Because the ginger in the Vanilla Ginger Tea was so strong I used only one tea bag of that flavor but two of the Sweet Coconut Thai Tea for an extra kick of coconut flavor.

Once cooked and cooled, I made a batch of caramel and, using the cone method, filled each cupcake with a dollop of sugary goodness.



Now here's where it gets weird. I'd planned to make plain old ginger cream cheese frosting, delicious with diced candied ginger and ginger powder to boot. But this is a tea-themed competition, isn't it? How could I stop at just making the cake tea flavored? Only trouble was the frosting recipe didn't call for any liquids and I didn't want to risk having to overcompensate with more sickly sweet powdered sugar if I tried adding some. Instead I improvised. Taking a Vanilla Ginger tea bag I carefully dampened it, not enough to drench it but enough to get the tea and spices activated. Then I rolled it around in the softened cream cheese, applying pressure with the back of a spoon and stirring. I rewetted the tea bag about five times and repeated the process until I could definitely smell the tea in the cream cheese. Just don't get carried away and taste it yet because I can tell you from first hand experience that it doesn't get good until the rest of the ingredients are added. Be patient! The end result is worth it. It's even worth the painful blister I now have on my index finger that's making it difficult to type this. Since I'm dispensing advice left and right I'll also take the time to warn you that it's a very bad idea to stick your finger into the caramel dripping off of your spoon as you're heating the molten hot sugar. Then again you probably knew that because you have something called common sense. But I digress...

I'm so pleased I got this recipe right on the first try! As I've mentioned before, I'm a bit leery of experimenting and straying from the recipe that's printed on the page but this challenge has certainly made me push myself. Not only creatively but also technically in making sure I don't alter the consistency of the cake with any of my changes. This one couldn't have turned out better if Martha Stewart had written the recipe, if I may say so myself. The end result is a light cake with plenty of spicy tea flavor, crunchy coconut, oozing caramel, and a tangy ginger frosting with a hint of tea. I'm glad I'm forced to blog about this if only so I can be sure to get the recipe down while it's still fresh in my mind. I'll definitely be making these babies again!

Please go vote for me! Voting's open until July 26 so hurry on over!
http://www.sweetestkitchen.com/2010/07/mystery-box-tea-roundup/

Sweet Coconut Tea Cupcakes With Caramel Filling and Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:
Recipe adapted from My Kitchen in the Rockies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup plus two heaping tablespoons canned unsweetened coconut milk (stir well before measuring)
2 tea bags Celestial Seasonings Sweet Coconut Thai Tea
1 tea bag Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Ginger Green Tea
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into two pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Heaping 1/4 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened or sweetened)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 11 cupcake wells with paper liners.

2) Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

3) Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan, add the tea bags and butter, and heat until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3-5 minutes until mixture has turned a nice caramel color. Remove pan from heat and remove tea bags, squeezing as much liquid back into the pan as possible.

4) Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar at medium-high speed until pale, thick and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and stopping just when the flour disappears.

5) Keeping the mixer on low, add the coconut, mixing only until it is blended, then steadily add the hot milk mixture. When the batter is smooth, stop mixing and give the batter a couple of turns with a rubber spatula, just to make certain that any dry ingredients that might have fallen to the bottom of the bowl are incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake pan and bake for 18-21 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for five minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Caramel Filling:
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the sugar over medium heat in a large pot. With a wooden spoon, stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.

2) Add the butter and salt and stir it in until melted.

3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

4) Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in approximately one teaspoon of caramel. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting:
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson

1 tea bag Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Ginger Green Tea
Water to dampen tea bag
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt

1) Dampen tea bag in a small amount of water. Add to bowl with softened cream cheese and press gently with the back of a spoon. Flip tea bag over and press again with a spoon. Remove tea bag and stir cream cheese. Dampen tea bag again and repeat five times or until there's a distinct tea scent coming from the cream cheese. Remove tea bag and discard.

2) In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese and butter until creamy. With mixer on low speed, beat in confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy. Add crystallized ginger, ground ginger and salt, beating until well mixed.

3) Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and top with additional diced crystallized ginger if desired.


Just so you know what's at stake here, the winner of July’s Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge will receive prizes from:

• Bake It Pretty; $5 electronic gift card


• Beanilla; Tahitian vanilla fleur de sel & 3 organic Indonesian vanilla beans


• Rishi Tea; the new Tsuki tea pot and 2 tins of tea


• Soapylove Glycerin Soap Design; a Soapy Pop


• Sweet Cuppin Cakes; a prize pack worth $25

Thank you to all the prize sponsors! Wish me luck!


Link parties: